Level Up
by ohmytheon
Summary: (Villain Uraraka Series) In the middle of a fight with Deku during a final exam, Ochako finds out something about her quirk, but it admittedly scares her more than she'll admit.


**Notes:** I wanted to something different with Uraraka's quirk. The change I made is partly based on Chuuyu from Bungo Stray Dogs. Was it my original plan for this fic? No, it was not - and yet it happened anyway. NGL, I started falling asleep while editing this, so it might not be my best work.

* * *

Ochako had known fighting Deku was going to be difficult, but she hadn't expected to feel so unevenly matched. It disgusted her. Infuriated her. Drove her up the wall. She felt like Tomura when he was in one of his fits. She wanted to disintegrate absolutely everything, most especially Deku. Her father had told them Deku wasn't to be killed (not yet, at least), but that didn't mean she couldn't hurt him, break a bone or two, punch him in his dumb, smiling, kind face.

She hated that he was so kind. So nice and compassionate. It was hard to hate someone so undeniably good.

During their entrance exam, she had been shocked by his power, especially after he'd spent the entire exam running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Coming in third, she had known that she would get into the hero course, but she'd honestly felt like someone with that much power, even if it did turn against them, deserved to be in it too, hence why she'd offered up her points. Her father thought it was a good idea as well. A quirk like that needed to be observed closely. He hadn't even known who the boy was until she talked to him about her first week of school.

There weren't many times that she'd seen her father surprised. From the time she was little, for as far as she could remember, it was like he knew everything. He was the smartest person in the universe and the strongest too. He could tell her that the sky was red and she would've believed him. He could have told her that someone's quirk was what made the sun rise and set and she would've trusted him. He knew everything.

But he had genuinely not anticipated her telling him that she'd been partnered up with an Izuku Midoriya for her first combat training hero class. Because of his injuries, it would've been difficult to tell his surprise, but it had only been a moment of hesitation over the phone for her to realize her father was caught off guard. He'd repeated the name, like it was both familiar and strange, and then asked her to continue her story.

" _Do you like this boy?"_ her father had asked in his typical light tone.

Ochako had transferred her cell to her other ear and replied, " _He seems nice and smart, but he's so stereotypically self-sacrificing from what I've seen so far."_ She'd snorted in amusement. " _He would probably drive Tomura mad."_

It turned out she hadn't been wrong - Deku did more than drive Tomura mad these days - and now she was in the same boat, except instead of going after him in the mall (honestly, she could've killed Tomura for that), she was crouched behind a wall trying to catch her breath and wondering if she was really cut out for what her father had planned out for her. Could she really do this? Deku wasn't even using his quirk to its full strength. How would she fare against people like Bakugou and Todoroki if she couldn't even compete with him?

 _No, get a grip on yourself,_ Ochako, she scolded herself mentally. _Papa is in jail and he's counting on you. Tomura has faith in you. Get your shit together and beat him._

Father had chosen her, after all. He'd had two progeny, but he had kept her. He had decided she was worth it. He trusted her. He loved her. Who was Deku? He was no one She would beat him and, even if he was unaware of it, she would know that she was better. She would show him. She'd show everyone. Deku was always the center of everything, but he wasn't the best all the time.

He wouldn't be number one.

Before Ochako could make her move, the wall above her exploded from one of Deku's attacks. Luckily, while she yelped in an embarrassing manner as she rolled out of the way, she had one of her hands pressed flat against the concrete. Instead of showering her with sharp, dangerous rocks, the rubble stayed floating in the air. Some of the rocks cut Deku as he jumped through it, but he didn't seem to notice as blood slid down his cheek. When he landed, dust kicking up in the air from his skidding feet, his green eyes were practically shining as he grinned back at her. He always looked his strongest in the middle of a fight.

Ochako wished she felt the same, but she was still finding herself. Papa always said she was strong, but she wished her quirk was as flashy as Deku's, Todoroki's, or Bakugou's. Even a super versatile one like Momo's would be nice or a dangerous one like Mina's would be great. No, she could float things. That was it. She'd learned how to make it difficult for people to manage, especially at their first Sports Festival when she faced Bakugou, but it still wasn't enough.

Picking up a large piece of rubble using her quirk, Ochako used an old specialty move and swung it like a bat, launching multiple shards of concrete at Deku. With a speed she could only be envious of, he leaped into the air, jumping onto a wall and using it to push off further into the air over her head. The only way she was able to keep track of him was because of the green lightning that surrounded him, but he still landed behind her before she could attempt another attack.

Luckily, she'd somewhat anticipated him coming at her from behind, so she was already in the process of turning on her heels. She raised the chunk of rubble up just in time to use as a shield, blocking his hit, but the impact of his fist connecting with the concrete still shattered it and sent her flying back. She would've crashed into the wall had she not activated her quirk and used the rockets built into her shoes to slow her down. She ended up landing with her feet on the wall so she was standing sideways.

Gritting her teeth, she released her quirk, hitting the ground in a crouch as debris rained down upon them. Unlike Bakugou, Deku couldn't simply blow the rocks up to evade getting him, but she watched in awe as he spun around and swung a kick that sent a powerful wind blowing all the falling rocks away from him and towards her. She had to quickly activate her quirk on herself again and shoot up into the sky, barely avoiding getting hit by her own mini weapons she'd created.

 _Why? How is he this good?_ Ochako landed on top of the building with a solid clunk and glared down at him, tears burning in her eyes behind her visor. _Am I even putting up a fight at this point?_

She was never enough. She wanted more. She wanted to be more. She wanted to be stronger, like Tomura and Papa. She had to be. If she couldn't beat Deku - if she couldn't even measure up to him or come close to being on his level - then maybe Papa would think he made a mistake. Maybe he did. What if he started to think that he should have chosen to raise Deku and not her? What if he regretted not leaving her to have a normal, boring life and taking Deku under his wing?

Ochako couldn't handle that. She couldn't take even thinking about it. Every time she did when she saw Deku fight, it made her want to explode like a supernova - but she didn't have that kind of strength in her. What was wrong? Why was she so weak?

Her struggle must have been written on her face because Deku hesitated for a moment. "Uraraka?" he called out, concern laced in his voice that only made her want to scream even further. "Are you okay?"

They were in the middle of a battle for their exam and he was pausing to ask if she was okay. Like a good friend, a considerate person, a compassionate human being. Her stomach turned and this time it wasn't from her overusing her quirk. Why was he so good? It wasn't fair. There was no such thing as a truly good hero. Everyone was corrupt in the end. That was why the idea of a society built on heroes was so absurd. It was a lie. Heroes believed they were better than everyone else because they got lucky with their quirks, but they weren't any better than a villain. They thrived on power and attention even more than villains.

She didn't respond to him. She couldn't. He was part of the reason why Papa was in jail - why so much had been placed on Tomura's shoulders. They had known one day that responsibility would be his and that he would take on more than just the leadership role of the League (neither one of them liked to talk about Papa's health, not when he was so powerful still), but it was too soon and so sudden. She'd thought they would have another year or two at least. However, with Papa in jail, Tomura had been thrust into the lead and then Overhaul and his mess of a yakuza happened and he was doing well. He was doing so well.

She was the one holding them back. She wasn't pulling her weight. She could lift up to six tons now, but it felt like she was doing absolutely nothing.

Instead of responding to him, Ochako hardened her expression and jumped off the building. For his part, Deku didn't hesitate for a second time. He jumped to meet her, but she activated her quirk on herself at the last second, throwing Deku off. He collided into her, nearly knocking the wind out of her, but she managed to grab onto the back of his costume. Before they started to fall or he finished swinging a fist into her gut, she activated her quirk on both of them and used the rockets in her boots to spin them in a wild, fast-paced spiral, turning them into a blur to anyone watching.

Using the combination of her new rocket boots and her quirk could make her faster than Deku, but she lacked the control he had. Spinning like this also made her doubly sick, but she pushed through it, turning them like they were in a washing machine, until she finally threw him towards the ground and deactivated her quirk. Dizzy from the spinning and unable to focus, Deku slammed hard into the ground, even denting it, while Ochako fell from the sky. She managed to activate her quirk again a few meters before she hit the ground so she didn't land as hard, but the spinning action left her dizzy and weak as well and she staggered, almost falling to a knee.

Deku pushed himself up, bruised and cut up, but not looking any weaker. She panted as she stared at him. Why couldn't he stay down? Why did he always have to get up? No matter what happened to him, no matter how many bones he broke, he kept on getting back to his feet, kept fighting, kept pushing himself beyond his means.

(That was what a hero did though, right? They kept going and going and going, no matter the cost, no matter who they took down, no matter who was in their way-)

"No!" Ochako yelled, the first word she'd spoken aloud during the entire fight.

There was a momentary flash of surprise in Deku's eyes, but then it was gone, replaced by one of determination. She had to give him credit. He'd not gone easy on her. She had been sort of afraid that he would, considering the differences in their quirks, but he had not let up on her once, even if it meant she was bleeding, bruised, and probably suffering from a broken rib or two. He couldn't push himself unless he pushed her too. He knew her strength. He believed in her.

So why couldn't she?

Even Bakugou had said she wasn't fragile after their Sports Festival fight. Compress had told her that her quirk was much more powerful than she thought. Tomura had faith in her. He was expecting results, but he knew she could do them, just as Papa had known. He wasn't wrong about her. He'd chosen her for a reason. Tomura gave her the freedom to do her job as she saw fit. Deku fought her with everything he had even though he knew that the strength of his quirk could wreck her.

Using her quirk and rockets combo again, she launched herself into Deku before he could dodge. Instead of punching him, she collided with his chest, taking him off his feet and crashing through a glass window into another building. They landed in a pile of desks and chairs, a mock office of sorts, and she deactivated her quirk so they both tumbled to the ground.

Even though her body ached something fierce, Ochako pulled herself to her feet and swung a fist at Deku's face as he was standing. He dodged it, as expected, but she also managed to dodge his counterattack. They went at like that for a minute or two until one of his kicks connected with her side, knocking her into a wall. She wheezed out a breath, struggling for oxygen, and rolled out of the way before his fist could hit her so that it struck the wall she'd been leaning against a second before.

Stop. She wanted to stop. She wanted him to stop. He was so strong. There was a dent in the wall where his fist had made its impact. That would've been her. It would've knocked her out could and he would've won.

Their teachers had stressed that losing the fight did not mean they failed the exam. They were being graded on a multitude of things. There was even a chance that winning might not mean they passed or got a good grade. So many things were being taken into account. The final exam wasn't about winning.

It wasn't about winning to Ochako either. She knew that it shouldn't be, but a part of her felt like this was revenge. It was her chance to make her father proud. It was her chance to show everyone what she was capable of. It was her shot at redemption for not doing anything during the Kamino Incident. It had been nearly a year since the fight that forced All Might into retirement and saw her father put in chains and locked away like an animal.

He was still in there. She didn't know why he hadn't broken himself out, but maybe he was waiting for them. Maybe he was biding his time so they could flourish. Tomura was doing so well. Now it was her turn. She dodged another punch (but), she jumped onto a desk to avoid a kick (she kept), she had to float herself when Deku destroyed the desk (fucking up), she landed and blocked another blow with her arms (she was too), pain rattled all the way down her arms and she cried out (weak why was she so weak?), she staggered back.

No more. She couldn't just be enough. She had to be more than that. She had to go beyond everything.

Maybe her attacks were more sporadic and messier, but when Ochako jumped to go back on the attack, she put in everything she had and more. Sweat dripped down her face and she couldn't breathe, but she was relentless, punching and kicking and blocking. Even then, she couldn't land a hit on him.

Until finally, when he swung a little too far, she managed to get a hold of his wrist. She twisted on her heels so her back was to him, activating her quirk, and throwing him over her shoulder with as much strength as she could manage. No, more strength. She screamed, "Stay down!" the words ripping out of her throat. Something twisted inside of her, like someone had put her stomach in a vice grip, and Deku's body glowed red as it slammed into the ground. She'd thought to deactivate her quirk, but something else happened instead.

When his body hit the ground, it didn't bounce like normal. Instead, it hit the floor hard, causing a severe crack and indentation as if he'd fallen far from the sky. There was no way her throw over the shoulder had been that strong. She didn't have his kind of strength quirk. However, there was no denying it as Deku lay wheezing at her feet. She let go of his wrist and staggered back, gawking at him with wide eyes.

Get up, she thought.

Don't get up, a darker voice hissed.

He couldn't move, not even a finger. She watched him struggle, unable to lift himself from the ground, until finally he managed to wheeze, "Can't - breathe-"

Ochako snapped out of her thoughts and pressed the pads of her fingers together, stuttering out a shaky, "Release."

The second she did, Deku gasped for air and jerked into the upright position, holding a hand against his chest as he continued struggling to breathe. After a few heavy breaths, he twisted his body around so he could face her, his green eyes wide with shock (and fear?), and she stared back at him. "What…?" He panted. "What was...that?"

"I…I..." Ochako furrowed her brow. "I don't…"

Deku's eyes fixated on her face. "Uraraka, your nose - you're bleeding-"

Ochako immediately lifted her fingers to her nose. When she pulled her hand away, she spotted the bright red blood on her fingers. How that would've sent Toga into a tizzy. She hated the idea of wasted blood. All of that deliciousness gone to waste...

Maybe it was the thought of Toga's obsession with drinking blood or maybe it was the incredibly weird use of her quirk, but the side effects hit her all at once, like the worst punch to the gut. She spun around and threw up, choking on air. Doubled over with one arm wrapped around her chest, she had to put a hand on a broken desk to keep herself from falling over as she continued to vomit like there was no tomorrow. By the time she was finished, she had sunk to her knees in front of the disgusting puddle and tears were leaking out of her eyes as blood continued to drip to the floor from her nose.

"Uraraka?" Deku's voice came close from behind her. "Are you-?"

"Don't touch me!" Ochako shrieked, jerking away from him and scrambling back to her feet.

Just as she'd suspected, Deku's hand was outstretched, having been close to laying on her back. He wore a wide-eyed, innocent and concerned expression on his face that nearly made her throw up again. "Your quirk - you did something different." No shit. She could feel the change in her body. It was like her equilibrium was off. She was terrified of moving, afraid she'd topple over or pass out. "It was like there was an incredible weight sitting on top of me. I couldn't move at all, not even to breathe."

"I don't…" she whimpered.

"I think," Deku said slowly, "I think you _increased_ my gravity instead of taking it away."

No. Yes. Blood kept running down her nose, touching her lips, her chin, the front of her hero costume. She couldn't breathe. Her stomach twisted. She stared down at her trembling hands.

"I've never done that," Ochako managed.

"Your quirk must have been miscategorized," Deku told her in a careful tone, like he was wary. "You don't have zero gravity. You have gravity manipulation."

Listening to Deku talk to her about her own quirk sent her into a near panic attack. It was hers. She'd made it her own and she had learned to do so much with it. How had she not known this facet of it until now? In her panic, it made her vomit again, but with nothing in her stomach, she could only dry heave. This new use of her quirk left her feeling incredibly weak, her legs almost buckling underneath her and her body shaking, but when Deku moved to help her, she waved him away again.

Deku looked alarmed. "Uraraka-"

"Don't," she gasped, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Just...don't."

"Midoriya, Uraraka - the final is over!" All Might's concerned voice called over the speaker. "We have enough to use for our results. Please report to Recovery Girl as needed for your injuries!"

Undeterred, Deku stepped forward. "You need to-"

"Don't tell me what I need to do, Deku," Ochako spit out. "I can take care of myself."

The look on Deku's face suggested she had slapped him, but he still didn't stop. "I know that, but-"

"Back off," Ochako snapped. "I have to-" Her eyes searched wildly around the place. "I need to get out of here."

She had to get away from him. She had to get out of this place where so many cameras were hidden, watching their every move in order to grade them. If she didn't get somewhere alone fast, she was going to lose it. She could feel herself slipping. The last time she'd felt like this had been when she was watching live footage on the news of her father facing All Might. The rug had been pulled out from underneath her and she was floating but could all at any minute. She had to get out of here.

Brushing past him, Ochako bolted for the exit. It was hard for her to find in the destruction they'd caused (weren't they supposed to be heroes?), but once she did, she ripped the door open and stepped out of the testing area. All Might, Aizawa, Midnight and a handful of students ready to take their exams stood watching her.

Frozen on the spot, she caught eyes with Todoroki, who tilted his head in a curious manner. Of course. He had a dual quirk as well - Half Hot/Half Cold - so he would be extra attentive when she showed signs of one as well. It was hard not to feel like he was looking at her suspiciously, what with that coldly calculated gaze of his. For a moment, it strangely reminded her of Dabi, who always surveyed her like she might turn out to a triple agent and would betray them at any second, but then she tore her gaze from him and the moment passed. She couldn't handle that kind of scrutiny right now, not when she felt like she was going to get sick again.

"Uraraka," All Might said tentatively, "you need to see Recovery Girl."

"Okay," she replied flatly.

All Might looked unconvinced by her response, which was made even worse when he glanced at Aizawa. "Your quirk-"

"It's mine!" Ochako snapped. Everyone stared at her. She breathed through her nose in an attempt to calm herself down, but it only reminded her that she was suffering from a massive nosebleed. She must have looked like an absolute mess. Scraped, bruised, dirty, bleeding. She was a disaster. She felt so weak. And yet-

That power. Deku hadn't even been able to move or even breathe. She'd won by default. She had beat him.

"Do you…?" All Might searched for the words. "Do you need to talk to someone?"

"My dad," Ochako blurted out.

It was a stupid response, one that almost made her wince, but an innocuous one at least. All Might nodded his head. She hated him for it. Of course he thought it was so simple for her. After all, her normal, boring, construction worker dad was just a phone call away. It wasn't that easy. She hadn't been able to speak with her father in almost a year. The last time she'd talked to him had been when she told him about the camping trip. She had been so excited. He hadn't even told her of Tomura's plan to kidnap Bakugou. There was no way he hadn't known about it.

Why hadn't he told her? Had he not thought her strong enough? Had he thought she might react poorly to the plan? Did he believe in Tomura more than her?

All Might took a breath. "Your injuries-"

"I'm fine," Ochako said, even though she knew damn well that she wasn't. "I'll go see her. I just- I need-"

"Take a breath," Midnight told her, "or you'll get sick again." Easier said than done with a few broken ribs. Getting sick would be more painful. "Do you need someone to go with you?" Ochako caught eyes with Todoroki again and then shook her head. She didn't need anyone. Thank everything Deku hadn't walked in yet. "Okay, go on then. We'll speak with you about your exam results later."

Ochako barely waited for Midnight to finish before she ran out of the room. She heard someone calling for her (Deku? Tsu? It couldn't have been Todoroki.), but she ignored them and ran. Her entire body screamed at her to stop and her mind warned her of how suspicious or humiliating she would look, but she didn't care. By the time she made it back to the dorms, she was gasping for air. Luckily there was no one in Heights Alliance to see her, all too busy with finals, and she sank in the elevator as it took her to her floor. Tears were pricking at her eyes when the elevator dinged and she stumbled into the hallway.

So close, so far. It wasn't good enough. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to get away. Coming to UA had been a mistake. No, it wasn't. This was her role. This was her part. She was here to make Papa proud.

But he was in Tartarus and Tomura was off making a name for himself and she was alone. She didn't know what was going on - she had no idea what was happening with her quirk - and she was scared and alone. True, she had felt hints of it before, but never like this.

She grabbed her cell phone from the charger where she left it after lunch. She memorized his number instead of putting the contact in her cell and typed it on the screen with shaky fingers. Despite meaning to fall on her bed, Ochako sunk to the floor next to it instead, curled up in a ball to keep herself from getting sick. What if he didn't answer? What if he was busy? What if he thought it was too dangerous to talk to her?

 _Answer the phone!_ Ochako screamed in her mind. _Answer the phone! I need you!_

The call was picked and Tomura's grouchy voice came on the other end, "What are you doing calling me right now? Aren't you supposed to be taking your final?"

"I wanna come home!" Ochako blubbered.

It wasn't what she'd meant to say at all, but the moment she heard his voice, so many emotions came rushing back to her. All the times she'd stayed the weekend, only to be shuttled back to her fake parents' apartment for the week. Wanting to live with Tomura and Papa. Feeling like she was being separated from Tomura and not understanding why. There wasn't a home for her to go to anymore - the bar that they'd grown up in was gone - but that didn't matter. Home wasn't a place. It was a person. Papa was gone, but Tomura was still there.

"What?" Tomura responded. "What are you talking about?"

"Something happened - something weird - and I don't know-" Ochako started to choke up. The tears began to flood, finally spilling from her eyes and running down her cheeks. She had held them back for long enough. She was alone in the confines of her dorm room and Tomura couldn't see her. He used to tease her when they were younger about how easily she cried. Papa said that didn't make her weak. It meant people would underestimate her because she felt so deeply.

"Calm down," Tomura told her in a firm tone. She hiccuped in the middle of a sob. "Listen to me. I need you to calm down, Chako. I can't understand you."

"I'm sorry," Ochako cried. "You're probably in the middle of something."

Tomura huffed on the other end. "Fuck them. I've been itching to hear from you all day. Now calm down and tell me what the hell is going on."

Ochako sucked in a deep breath of air and then let it out, her entire body slumping and sinking as she did. All of her tension bled out of her. It wasn't calm, but it was something. She wouldn't cry and sputter on the phone at least. She didn't know what to say, but at the end of the day, there was nothing else for her to do but be upfront about what had happened.

"My quirk changed."

"It what?"

The incredulity in his voice spurred Ochako forward and she tumbled into a rambling that Deku would've been proud of. "I was taking my exam and I was fighting Deku and I was just so mad and upset and - I don't know what happened - I managed to get a hold of him and throw him onto the ground and I kept thinking about how I was too weak to do anything and I-" She paused to suck in a gasp of air. She needed to breathe. Wasn't that basically what Tomura had told her to do? "Instead of canceling out his gravity, I increased it. He couldn't get up or move. I've never done that. I don't know what happened."

"Are you…? What…?" Even Tomura was at a loss. It was understandable. Ochako was sixteen. By now, her quirk should have been on lockdown. Sure, she would be able to figure out how to manipulate zero gravity more, but that should've been it. To find out that her quirk had been wrong the entire time was mind-blowing. No wonder her teachers had been hesitant to let her go. She would have to fix her quirk on the registry. She couldn't just take away gravity. She could add it.

(Deku couldn't even breathe with all that extra gravity on him.)

"I'm scared," Ochako admitted. "I don't know how it happened or what I did. I was just so angry and upset and I-" How long had that power been lying dormant in her? From the very beginning? Why had it not appeared until now? "I don't wanna be here. Everyone kept looking at me like I was freak, like I was stupid for not knowing my own quirk or something."

Tomura was silent for a few beats before he finally answered, "This isn't home."

"You all made it one, didn't you?" Ochako said, feeling desperate. The dorms felt like they were smothering her. Her so-called friends, her classmates, would come calling on her soon. They would check on her to make sure she'd gone to see Recovery Girl. Her body ached. Oh, yeah, she had some broken bones. "Everything feels like it's been turned upside down. I can't control it. I scared to use my quirk."

"Put on your gloves for a while."

"No," Ochako whined, "I haven't had to use them in so long."

"Safety first," Tomura said.

Ochako huffed. "Okay, fine, but I still want to come home. I don't know how I did it and I'm freaking out."

"I know, I know." Tomura sighed. "It might not be a good time. You'll be under more scrutiny since people have realized your quirk was miscategorized." She bit her lip. Todoroki's pointed gaze came to mind. Tomura was right, as usual. "Gravity manipulation, huh? That is certainly much more versatile and dangerous. Do you realize how powerful you can be with that? The strongest person in the world can't win against gravity."

She hadn't thought of it that way, but Ochako bit her bottom lip now and said, "Really?"

"We built a Nomu to match All Might," Tomura replied, "but gravity is a matter of science and the laws of nature and no one can fight that." He was starting to get his excited voice, which meant he was getting ideas. She wished she was there to see his face, although she knew he probably had that hand covering it. "Ochako, you might just be our trump card."

"It's not that big of a deal," Ochako murmured.

"You can manipulate gravity," Tomura pointed out, "something only planets can do. You're a fucking planet. I'm a moon at best."

Despite herself, Ochako smiled and giggled. That was just like him. She knew that so many of the other League members thought he was serious and the heroes thought he was crazy, but she knew him as Tomura, snarky asshole who was fond of bad jokes and puns. He gave the softest of smiles and goofiest of grins. He was her big brother. Still, that meant he said things just to make her feel better and not because they were the truth.

"I still wanna come home soon," Ochako said with a small sniff. "It's...expensive, I know, but I miss you."

"Yeah, yeah, I miss you too-"

"Hey!"

She could hear the smirk in Tomura's voice behind his hand: "You said Midoriya couldn't move, right?"

Ochako hesitated, but then she said, "Yeah, he was stuck. He couldn't even breathe. It freaked me out."

"Then you won," Tomura said. "You beat him."

"Yeah," Ochako mumbled, "I guess I did."

"I'm proud of you," Tomura proclaimed. Her heart skipped a beat. Proud of her. That was something only Papa said back in the day. She had to take it from him now. She could be in warmer waters now. She was proud of herself too, even if it meant winning in what others perceived as cheating. Proud of her. That was all she wanted. Her brother was right: all she needed was to calm down and figure out her quirk. No one would be able to stop her then.


End file.
